In our case, we have a dog. A 60 pound Australian Shepherd to
be exact. We knew about a year in advance that we would be moving to Germany
and there was no way we were leaving our dog behind. Our dog is like a family
member to us, so we were prepared for the costs of sending our dog overseas
with us. Our original report date was August 2014 and we figured we had time to
prepare so we didn’t start preparing for the move right away. My husband didn’t
even have paper orders yet so we didn’t make any plans. Then in April 2014, we
got word that my husbands report date had moved from August to June. We had TWO
months to prepare for our move overseas. We hadn’t done anything to prepare. We
didn’t even have paper orders. That is when we had to hightail it into gear and
get preparations done!
So here is a list of things you need to do to help prepare
yourself for your move overseas with your pet:
1. BOOK YOUR FLIGHT ASAP
First thing you need to do when you have
paper orders is BOOK YOUR FLIGHT! It’s best to get your paper orders as soon as
you can. Sometimes if your report date isn’t until a year, you might not be able
to get those printed right away. Check with your command or travel office and
see when those can be printed and book your flight ASAP. Pet spots on the plane
are few and far between. I’ve been told there are only 10 spots on the entire
plane so these spots fill up quick and should be booked at least 3 months
before your report date to guarantee your pet’s spot. When booking your flight,
make sure to tell the person you have a pet, whether it’s a dog or cat, and its
approximate weight. We weren’t so lucky and there were no spots for our dog
until July so I stayed behind and waited to fly with our dog then.
2. SCHEDULE VETERINARY APPOINTMENTS: MICROCHIP AND
RABIES VACCINE
My dog already had an international
microchip but if your pet doesn’t have one, make sure to have one implanted
because it’s required for your dog to travel. In addition, your pet will need a
rabies vaccine at least 30 days before the flight. Normally, we saw a vet off
post but I would recommend taking your dog to the vet at your local installation
because they are much more familiar with the overseas PCS process and you can
also skip the trip to get the USDA certification. Which leads me to my next step.
3. USDA CERTIFICATION
When moving overseas, a USDA certificate is
usually required to prove your animal is healthy to travel. However, if you
live near a military installation, you can take your animal there and they will
provide you with appropriate paperwork that sort of “overrides” the USDA
paperwork but works just the same. And my vet at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
charged me about $3 for it because we were PCSing. So save yourself some money
and try that before going to your local UDSA facility. If you absolutely have
to go to a USDA facility, click on this link to help you out. Also, the pet certificate needs to be in
English and German so make sure it’s in both languages before leaving the USDA
office or vet’s office.
4. BUY AN AIRLINE APPROVED KENNEL
Depending on the airline you are flying on,
they may have certain guidelines you need to follow to transport your pet. I
flew United to Baltimore and then hopped on the military flight to Germany so I
needed to make sure my kennel fit United Airlines standards and also the
Patriot Express standards. Petsmart and Petco usually have airline approved
kennels but not every kennel is airline approved, so double check before you fly. And if your
kennel doesn’t come with metal nuts and bolts, buy a pet airline kit so you can
replace to plastic ones with metal parts since many airlines require the metal
nuts and bolts now. In addition, you need to make sure your pet can stand up,
turn around and lay down comfortably in the kennel. If your pet can’t do these
things, you risk your pet not being allowed on the flight. If you need to fly
commercial to get to your military charter flight, double check with the
airline on the requirements. I found a great airline kit with bolts, kennel
pads and more on this website.
5. PREPARE TO PAY TO PICK YOUR PET UP
Upon arriving in Germany, you will need to pay
around €50 when picking up your dog at baggage claim in Ramstein. Some people
fly into other airports such as Frankfurt or Munich, so if you fly into one of
those airports, you may be subject to other fees that I am unaware of and you
would need to contact the airport or airline to inquire about additional fees.
My only other advice is to make sure you have someone to
help you if you have a larger animal, such as a dog that is 15lbs or more. I
flew by myself and it was quite difficult trying to maneuver a cart with an 85lb
kennel (including dog) and three suitcases. I’m a petite girl and it proved to
be quite challenging for me. Thankfully, I had some good samaritans help me out
when I was struggling but I wont deny that I wish I had my husband with me to
help me. In the end, it all worked out and we were finally reunited with my
husband.
I hope this helped anyone who may have been confused about the PCS process with pets! Be aware though, that if we had moved to another OCONUS station, such as Hawaii or Japan, the process might have been different. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or concerns.
Have you gone through a PCS with a pet overseas? What other tips do you have?
